- CryptoPunk has created shocking ripples in and around the crypto space rallying massive community interest.
- Visa’s investment in CryptoPunk is expected to increase adoption for digital artwork produced as NFTs.
- According to the Head of Crypto at Visa, collectibles trading will bring in a ‘New Chapter’ and Visa is pleased to be at the forefront of this.
The recent investment of $150,000 by Visa in the NFT sphere, and acquiring the popular collective of digital artworks called CryptoPunk has become the talk of the town. The credit card giant made the announcement earlier this week through a blog post by Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa.
Sheffield has often publicly acknowledged his support for the NFT space and the bright scope of its growth and contribution to the digital economy. He noted, “To help our clients and partners participate, we need a first-hand understanding of the infrastructure requirements for a global band to purchase, store and leverage an NFT.”
Adding to the above, he also spoke on prospects of such a step – “The ability to track and leverage a digital asset in multiple environments could mean exciting new opportunities in ticketing, gaming, music, art, and beyond.”
A Considerable Investment
Visa’s purchase of CryptoPunk 7610 comprises a female figure with a mohawk, wearing lipstick and with clown green eyes. The digital piece was first claimed back on June 23, 2017, then sold a month later for only 0.6 ETH ($114 in those days). The newly acquired asset purchase of Visa is valued at 49.50 ETH, equivalent to a massive $149,939.
This is not the first instance of Visa trying to explore the NFT or crypto market for good measure. Visa has already floated crypto-centric credit and debit cards, already having processed a whopping $1 billion during the first half of 2021. The NFT market has been recording impressive growth too, with Beeple’s artwork “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” has raised more than $69 million at Christie’s Auction House.
“We are a company stepped in the history of commerce and payments – but with our eyes on the future. With our CryptoPunk purchase, we are jumping in feet first. This is just the beginning of our work in this space”, Sheffield continued his comments on CryptoPunk.
A New Chapter
Terming this move as a “new chapter”, Visa has solidified its presence in the sphere of collectibles trading, forecasting that it could grow into something much more impactful and massive. “The competitive advantage crypto has that most people haven’t understood yet is that we just have more fun,” Cuy Sheffield continued.
The move by Visa can be perceived as one of the earliest and most influential experiments that global commercial giants have done so far. The step is also being viewed as a follow-up to similar actions by big and small corporates who have plunged into the wide market of cryptos and NFTs. What is now waiting to be explored is how NFTs are going to shape digital content, and how the public ledger that underpins cryptocurrencies is going to add transparency and uniformity to the process.
